Photo: carfrontswaps/instagram
Now that you can find the fruits of the sportscar collaboration between BMW and Toyota in showrooms across the world, one has to wonder: how would a smaller BMW roadster look like? The rendering we have here tries to answer that and put a smile on our faces at the same time.
We're dealing with a face swap pixel effort, one that sees the front end of the current BMW X5 M being placed on the contemporary ND-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata, so if the funny look of the result won't get to you, perhaps the model designation play will.
This image is part of a sub-genre that has become quite popular on social media, so the name of the label that came up with the image, which you can find in the Instagram post at the bottom of the page, shouldn't come as a surprise.
Returning to the question we dropped in the intro, one has to notice that BMW's roadsters have grown over the years. So while the 1989-launched Z1 measured 3,921 mm (154.4 in) in length, the 1996 Z3, which saw the Bavarians moving into the mass-produced side of the roadster world, sat at 4,025 mm (158.5 in).
The first-gen Z4, which came around in 2002, measures 4,090 mm (161.0 in) in length, while its 2009-introduced successor is 4,239 mm (166.9 in) long. The current Z4, which shares its platform and engines with the Mk V Supra? This is a 4,324 mm (170.2 in)-long machine.
For the sake of comparison, we'll mention that the ND Miata sits at 3,915 mm (154.1 in), so yes, there would be room for a smaller roadster in the BMW lineup.
Building a business case for another sportscar, even one that involves a collaboration, can be extreme difficult in these crossover-dominated times. Then again, BMW has the right DNA for such a proposal, so at least we can rely on that to fuel our dreams, even though the electrification trend means that a hypothetical newcomer of the sort might come with a charging port.
This image is part of a sub-genre that has become quite popular on social media, so the name of the label that came up with the image, which you can find in the Instagram post at the bottom of the page, shouldn't come as a surprise.
Returning to the question we dropped in the intro, one has to notice that BMW's roadsters have grown over the years. So while the 1989-launched Z1 measured 3,921 mm (154.4 in) in length, the 1996 Z3, which saw the Bavarians moving into the mass-produced side of the roadster world, sat at 4,025 mm (158.5 in).
The first-gen Z4, which came around in 2002, measures 4,090 mm (161.0 in) in length, while its 2009-introduced successor is 4,239 mm (166.9 in) long. The current Z4, which shares its platform and engines with the Mk V Supra? This is a 4,324 mm (170.2 in)-long machine.
For the sake of comparison, we'll mention that the ND Miata sits at 3,915 mm (154.1 in), so yes, there would be room for a smaller roadster in the BMW lineup.
Building a business case for another sportscar, even one that involves a collaboration, can be extreme difficult in these crossover-dominated times. Then again, BMW has the right DNA for such a proposal, so at least we can rely on that to fuel our dreams, even though the electrification trend means that a hypothetical newcomer of the sort might come with a charging port.
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